With the announcement of the Pebble Time, Pebble also briefly touched on what they’re calling “smartstraps.” These smart watch bands are basically just a platform so developers can create smartstraps that do different things and add a little functionality to the base Pebble Time.

Today, the company has opened a million dollar fund towards the development of these smartstraps and they’re showing off a few different early ideas from what others have already been working on. Pebble will be taking money from that fund to help back Kickstarter projects for smartstraps, so if you have an idea for one, get to work on a prototype. Read more

Although OnePlus is best known for their incredibly cheap smartphone, the OnePlus One, they still see themselves as a technology company, not just a phone manufacturer. With that in mind, the company has released a few teaser images about an upcoming device that’s not a smartphone, not a tablet, and not a smartwatch. OnePlus is calling it a “game changer,” though, and you can see where they’re going with that in the three pictures that were released.

The three images say “Start a new game,” “For the fun of it,” and “You’re in control.” Any guesses on how those things may tie into a game changing device? Yep, my money is on OnePlus releasing a game controller. Read more

It’s just over a couple of weeks since the Galaxy S6 and S6 Edge handsets were announced, and as yet, the hype machine has shown no signs of abating. Today the Korean giant announced a new selection of phone cases, covers and pouches called the Rich Accessory Collection, produced by fashion designers to complement the S6’s aesthetics.

If you’re an iPhone user that’s just not happy with the current selection of smartwatches, well, you’re probably on the wrong website, but there’s some good news on the horizon. Developer Mohammad Abu-Garbeyyeh recently released a video showing off how he paired a Moto 360 with an iPhone through some clever workarounds. Most of the functionality was borked, but you could at least check some text messages. Read more

The Samsung Galaxy S6 will be one of the hottest devices on the market when it launches around the world next month. Millions of consumers will rush to purchase the device that takes Samsung in a new direction. The Galaxy S6 features a metal and glass body, two materials that just scream high-end. With that high-end look, however, comes concerns with how durable the device is. That is why protecting the Galaxy S6 will be important for many consumers.

The latest update to the HTC Dot View app makes the unique case-software combination even more special. The company claims that the update makes Dot View more interesting, appealing, and practical. Games and scrolling messages make Dot View less static and more versatile. The new animated themes certainly add some personality. And the use of the flashlight and voice recorder make Dot View an asset. In all, Dot View now has features that should have existed at launch.

It’s great being able to stream the latest episode of House of Cards on your TV via your Chromecast isn’t it? Although it can be really frustrating having to grab your smartphone when you want to pause the program in a hurry, sometimes it’s just quicker pressing a physical button on the TV remote. Thankfully, Google has updated the Chromecast to allow you to pause and unpause videos with the infra-red remote that came with your TV. Read more

HTC and Valve showed off some gameplay from their upcoming virtual reality game called The Gallery: Six Elements. The game features full VR controls with the Vive headset, and although it’s hard to get a feel for that in a YouTube video, you can at least see how everything looks inside that headset. Read more

According to a new report, Samsung will offer some exclusive Marvel themed cases for the Galaxy S6 and the Galaxy S6 Edge. Some renders of these cases give us an idea of how this arrangement might work, although it’s far from the real deal, at least at this point. Read more

It isn’t often that you can accuse Samsung of being warm, fuzzy and that it’s products are cute, but perhaps this is as close as a giant tech company can be described as such. As part of the Samsung’s ‘Charge the Life’ campaign to raise awareness about endangered animals, a range of battery packs has been announced that each carries an illustration of an endangered animal on the front. Read more